"We are astounded at how quickly and mercilessly this government is moving to put people out of work and cut the services Canadians across the country rely on," John Gordon, PSAC national president said in a statement.

OTTAWA — Parks Canada has been hit especially hard in the latest round of federal public service cuts announced Monday, with the department receiving nearly half of the 4,000 notices of affected and surplus jobs, according to the largest union of federal public servants.

The Public Service Alliance of Canada said 3,872 of its members in 10 federal departments received notices saying they could lose their jobs.

They will join 11,957 members in 40 federal government departments and agencies who received job notices since the March federal budget when the government announced it would cut 19,200 public service jobs over three years in a bid to save $5.2 billion per year.

Eddie Kennedy, national executive vice-president of the Union of National Employees, which represents nearly 3,000 Parks Canada workers, told Postmedia News that the economic and "emotional" impact of the job losses will be felt most in rural communities which rely upon the tourism business near historic sites.

Kennedy said the fact that 1,689 Parks Canada jobs are in jeopardy — 638 of those positions are being eliminated — will also mean shortened seasons and limited access to historic sites.

Among those affected would be local businesses such as bed-and-breakfast establishments, gift shops and others "that thrive off the tourism industry because parks are closing earlier now."

"It's a real fragile industry. Sometimes the inability to have an extra two weeks' income will make or break whether they stay open," Kennedy said.

Also, since Parks Canada is the "big employer" in these communities, the impact will be more pronounced, he said.

According to PSAC, 1,404 notices, including 394 surplus notices, were given to workers in Parks Canada field units across the country.

Receiving a notice does not mean the recipient will be laid off. Those workers who received notice that their jobs have been declared "surplus," however, will see their jobs eliminated; they can apply to government programs to help them find another job in the federal government.

Affected Parks Canada workers include those at national historic sites, waterways and national parks across Canada, including scientists, technicians, engineers, carpenters and program managers.

Kennedy said the union was "surprised" by the size of the cuts. He questioned the tact of the announcement's timing given that hundreds of public sector workers are in Ottawa this week for a union convention.

"It's a horrible time to put this on us," he said. "We were here for other work and now we're dealing with this."

A woman in her 50s, who works at Saskatchewan's Batoche historic site found out Monday that both she and her husband were losing their jobs, Kennedy said, adding she "couldn't stop crying here all day."

Delegates at the PSAC triennial convention approved a $5-per-month emergency levy for all members to cover revenue shortfalls from the job losses.

The levy only kicks in if membership dips below 170,000 to make up for revenue shortfall but it can't "exceed the equivalent of $5 per member" or $60 a year. For the average PSAC member paying $463 next year, dues could rise to $477 if membership sinks to 165,000 by 2015. Any increases to dues would be imposed April 1 and Oct. 1 of the next three years.

If membership goes back up, dues revert to the original rate.

Meanwhile, 17 positions across the country are being affected as a result of the "streamlining" of the offender-grievance process, the Correctional Service of Canada confirmed Monday.

Currently, if an offender has a complaint and it can't be resolved informally, that offender can go through a formal grievance process that starts with the institution, then moves on to regional administrators and then on to headquarters.

That second, regional stage, is the one being eliminated.

The streamlining is expected to save the correctional service over $1.5 million annually, said Julie Carmichael, a spokeswoman for the public safety minister.

John Edmunds, president of the Union of Solicitor General Employees, said in a statement that the elimination of that process will mean fewer complaints get heard, "and more anxiety and potential violence in institutions."

But Canada's correctional investigator, Howard Sapers, who has called the grievance process convoluted and dysfunctional, said Monday that he supports eliminating the second grievance stage in principle because It will help achieve a fairer, more efficient and less complex grievance system. He also said removing the second stage will create more flexibility to address backlogs in the other stages.

Monday's news comes at a time when the government has been exploring ways to deal with frivolous complaints from inmates.

Don Head, commissioner of the correctional service, recently told a parliamentary committee that about two-dozen federal inmates lodge more than 100 grievances each year with the aim of clogging the system and harassing corrections staff.

He said inmates have complained about ice cream being "too cold" or eggs being "too small."

At the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the union said 43 employees in administrative, communications and analysis positions at headquarters also received notices.

Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Aliya Mawani told Postmedia News in an email that four of Canada's 22 missions in the U.S. (Anchorage, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Raleigh-Durham) and its satellite office in Princeton, New Jersey will be closing.

Instead, these missions will be served by nearby regional hubs.

"Canada's largest trading partner is the United States, and that's where our largest network is," she said. "However, our diplomatic needs are constantly evolving and our network of missions needs to keep up.

"This is about protecting Canada's interests and promoting Canadians' values in as many countries as possible, while delivering value for taxpayers."

"We are astounded at how quickly and mercilessly this government is moving to put people out of work and cut the services Canadians across the country rely on," John Gordon, PSAC national president said in a statement.

Gordon suggested the cuts "will hurt the economy."

According to Kennedy, 13 Parks Canada jobs will be eliminated at Banff, Alta., and 21 workers will transition from full-time to seasonal work. In Jasper, Alta., 16 jobs will be eliminated and 30 workers will transfer to seasonal work.

Also, Cape Breton Island's largest historic site, the Fortress of Louisbourg, will see 22 jobs eliminated and 143 people transferred to part-time hours.

A breakdown of other public service employees who have received notices, by department, according to PSAC:

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

- 908 workers, 689 of them in the National Capital Region, who work in programs such as the Aboriginal Affairs Directorate and the Employment Program for Persons with Disabilities.

- Other affected areas include those who work in the Citizen Services Branch, National Council of Welfare and the Learning Branch, which administers the Canada Student Loans and Canada Education Savings Grant Program.

- 81 workers in the labour program, including 25 workers declared "surplus" and five affected workers in Employment Equity.

- 20 workers employed in a program that develops labour standards for federally regulated workplaces.

Transport Canada

- 180 people received notices, which may result in cuts to airport security oversight and marine security. The education outreach by the Office of Boating Safety is also being eliminated. Among the workers affected are: marine security analysts, boating safety officers, transportation security, enforcement program inspectors in Airport Security Oversight in St. John's, Halifax and Moncton and aircraft maintenance engineers.

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development

- 490 PSAC members received notices. The union said the department "shared little information" on the number and location of jobs to be eliminated and affected services.

CLEVELAND — A 12-year-old boy who had a pellet gun when he was shot by police died as a result of his own actions, and the city of Cleveland isn’t to blame, its lawyers said in response to a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of the child’s family.

From lawyer Laura Joy's sense of style to mentor extraordinaire Joe Sisco to outstanding volunteer Tom Awad, the spring issue of Boom! magazine is proof that life is indeed good after 50. Also inside: home styles, rocker Christian Vegh and his influences, murder they wrote, green pea salad with mint and goat cheese and more.